Tuscaloosa officials say recreation expansion is beneficial

Bowers Park is seen in Tuscaloosa. County park and tourism officials are pushing a five-year, $15.3 million plan to improve park and recreation facilities across the county.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 21, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | County park and tourism officials are pushing a five-year, $15.3 million plan to improve park and recreation facilities across the county.

But if the money is spent, will the investment be worthwhile?

The Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission say yes, and that's why they have teamed up to request money from the Tuscaloosa City Council and Tuscaloosa County Commission.

According to officials, the facilities are needed to serve local residents who participate in sporting activities on aging or antiquated equipment and fields.

But the overall goal is to create upscale and attractive locations that will assist the tourism and sports commission in luring tournaments and other sporting events.

Don Staley, the commission's executive director for sports, has visited 17 cities and invested almost five years in researching this project.

The entire package will not be funded at once, but the City Council last week voted to spend up to $500,000 on a multipurpose facility at Munny Sokol Park that will help to secure a national archery tournament for at least three years.

Also, PARA officials want to proceed as soon as possible with converting the northern part of Sokol Park into a six-field soccer complex and creating a 13-field softball/baseball facility at Bowers Park.

The spending, according to PARA and the tourism and sports commission, will generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the area for years to come. The tourism and sports commission estimates that almost $30 million would have come from five sports tournaments that did not consider Tuscaloosa County because none of the county's facilities was adequate for the events' organizers.

Recruiting role

Much like the quality of facilities plays a role in recruiting new talent to college athletic programs, so, too, do they have an effect on bringing new events — and money — to an area.

According to data compiled by the tourism and sports commission, cities ranging from Virginia Beach, Va., to Baton Rouge, La., and including Oxford, Miss., Decatur, Auburn and Montgomery have all invested in upgrading their recreational facilities since 1999.

Because of these financial commitments, the tourism and sports commission said, these cities — including those with Southeastern Conference athletic programs — are bolstering their economies almost every weekend.

“It's beyond what the people said we needed to do to make it profitable for the city,” said Kennith Blankenship, executive director of the Central Alabama Sports Commission in Montgomery, of the $13 million multipurpose facility opened about six months ago.

Blankenship said the interest in the facility has gone beyond anything he imagined. The facility can cater to a multitude of sports — volleyball, wrestling, basketball and others — on about 80,000 square feet of open floor space.

“It's designed to handle large, amateur events — it's not an arena,” Blankenship said. “And every event we've had there has been new.”

Of these events, 28 are what Blankenship described as “major.” These included two volleyball tournaments, one with 96 teams and one with 50 teams, as well as a Junior League event with more than 200 exhibits.

Figures showing how much revenue each of these events brought to the Montgomery area were not available, but Blankenship said he's gathered the only numbers that he needs to know that the facility is paying off.

“We don't take every event and figure out what it meant to the city, but we know we're making an impact because of the large number of events we're having in the facility and the impact it's had on our hotels,” Blankenship said. “The (Montgomery Convention and Visitors Bureau) tells us the hotel occupancy is up, and that's what we're depending on.”

Oftentimes, those pushing for facilities that can lure new tourism dollars to an area are making the effort for local sports enthusiasts, too.

Rob Boyd, executive director of the Oxford (Miss.) Park Commission, said the $4.9 million, eight-field FNC Park was constructed with the goal of serving local Mississippians with new and quality sports facilities.

The ability to attract out-of-towners for stays of more than one night was just a bonus.

“We did not built FNC Park with the intent of bringing everyone to Oxford, Miss.,” Boyd said. “We built it with the intent of serving ... Oxford and Lafayette County, first and foremost.

“But we knew we would have an opportunity to host events.”

Boyd said there was no pressure from the Oxford-area chamber of commerce or local politicians to bring more events to the park, but that hasn't stopped FNC Park from playing host to several baseball and soccer tournaments since it opened in 2008.

And for the rest of 2013, Boyd said the park is expected to host another 12 to 15 tournaments or sporting events.

Its success has led to a partnership with the University of Mississippi for a $1.5 million expansion of the Oxford Park Commission's existing tennis facility, from eight courts to 20.

“When you look at it ... we can easily bring in from 60 to 85 teams on a weekend,” Boyd said. “There's no doubt that it's made a difference locally. There's no doubt it's been a benefit.”

Robyn L. Bridges, the vice-president and public relations director for the Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau, said similar things when recounting the success of the Auburn area's sports and recreational complexes.

While Tuscaloosa may be owning the state now in college football, Auburn is easily surpassing this area when it comes to amateur sports offerings.

For example, the Auburn Wire Road Soccer Complex, a $3.2 million facility completed in 2007, has 12 fields that can accommodate tournaments from across the country.

Tuscaloosa, right now, has one regulation-sized soccer field.

Auburn-Opelika also played host to the United States Specialty Sports Association's Super NIT last year, which required the use of every baseball facility in the county — including those at the university — plus some others across the county line, Bridges said.

This one event brought more than 6,800 participants and visitors for 72 individual youth baseball teams to the area for three days.

“We were almost completely sold out in our hotel rooms ... in our county,” Bridges said.

The estimated economic impact for the area was $2.5 million.

According to the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission, this was one of the several events it has bid on to bring to Tuscaloosa, but failed because of inadequate facilities and space.

Others included:

n A tournament for U.S. Lacrosse in 2010 that would have brought 126 teams to the area for six days.

n An Amateur Softball Association national championship tournament that would have brought 72 teams for six days.

n An Ultimate Frisbee regional tournament, which would have brought 64 teams for four days.

According to Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission data, these four events meant a total economic impact of $17.9 million on the cities that hosted them. The largest of those events was the lacrosse tournament, which brought an $8.35 million economic impact to Philadelphia.

Tourism's impact

“Tourism is huge,” said Susan West, CEO of the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission. “It's the fourth- or fifth-largest industry, when you look at the number of people it employs and the amount of dollars that are spent.

“Our community is sorely lacking in facilities and what is offered.”

West said that the total investment won't be recovered within a year, but over time she expects the local tax dollars to be returned multiple times.

And she's hopeful that the County Commission will pledge to fund the plan not only for the tourism opportunities, but also for the benefit of local athletes, and she plans to make this request Wednesday during the commission's regular meeting.

“As large as sports tourism is, TTSC is going to do what it can to make sure that money is made back,” West said, “But this is a community issue. We're behind on these (facilities).

“We can bring things that will help pay for it, but ultimately these facilities are for our children so they don't have to pay to travel and train to learn how to compete.”

<p>TUSCALOOSA | County park and tourism officials are pushing a five-year, $15.3 million plan to improve park and recreation facilities across the county.</p><p>But if the money is spent, will the investment be worthwhile?</p><p>The Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority and the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission say yes, and that's why they have teamed up to request money from the Tuscaloosa City Council and Tuscaloosa County Commission.</p><p>According to officials, the facilities are needed to serve local residents who participate in sporting activities on aging or antiquated equipment and fields.</p><p>But the overall goal is to create upscale and attractive locations that will assist the tourism and sports commission in luring tournaments and other sporting events.</p><p>Don Staley, the commission's executive director for sports, has visited 17 cities and invested almost five years in researching this project. </p><p>The entire package will not be funded at once, but the City Council last week voted to spend up to $500,000 on a multipurpose facility at Munny Sokol Park that will help to secure a national archery tournament for at least three years.</p><p>Also, PARA officials want to proceed as soon as possible with converting the northern part of Sokol Park into a six-field soccer complex and creating a 13-field softball/baseball facility at Bowers Park.</p><p>The spending, according to PARA and the tourism and sports commission, will generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the area for years to come. The tourism and sports commission estimates that almost $30 million would have come from five sports tournaments that did not consider Tuscaloosa County because none of the county's facilities was adequate for the events' organizers.</p><p>Recruiting role</p><p>Much like the quality of facilities plays a role in recruiting new talent to college athletic programs, so, too, do they have an effect on bringing new events — and money — to an area.</p><p>According to data compiled by the tourism and sports commission, cities ranging from Virginia Beach, Va., to Baton Rouge, La., and including Oxford, Miss., Decatur, Auburn and Montgomery have all invested in upgrading their recreational facilities since 1999.</p><p>Because of these financial commitments, the tourism and sports commission said, these cities — including those with Southeastern Conference athletic programs — are bolstering their economies almost every weekend.</p><p>“It's beyond what the people said we needed to do to make it profitable for the city,” said Kennith Blankenship, executive director of the Central Alabama Sports Commission in Montgomery, of the $13 million multipurpose facility opened about six months ago.</p><p>Blankenship said the interest in the facility has gone beyond anything he imagined. The facility can cater to a multitude of sports — volleyball, wrestling, basketball and others — on about 80,000 square feet of open floor space.</p><p>“It's designed to handle large, amateur events — it's not an arena,” Blankenship said. “And every event we've had there has been new.”</p><p>Of these events, 28 are what Blankenship described as “major.” These included two volleyball tournaments, one with 96 teams and one with 50 teams, as well as a Junior League event with more than 200 exhibits.</p><p>Figures showing how much revenue each of these events brought to the Montgomery area were not available, but Blankenship said he's gathered the only numbers that he needs to know that the facility is paying off.</p><p>“We don't take every event and figure out what it meant to the city, but we know we're making an impact because of the large number of events we're having in the facility and the impact it's had on our hotels,” Blankenship said. “The (Montgomery Convention and Visitors Bureau) tells us the hotel occupancy is up, and that's what we're depending on.”</p><p>Oftentimes, those pushing for facilities that can lure new tourism dollars to an area are making the effort for local sports enthusiasts, too.</p><p>Rob Boyd, executive director of the Oxford (Miss.) Park Commission, said the $4.9 million, eight-field FNC Park was constructed with the goal of serving local Mississippians with new and quality sports facilities.</p><p>The ability to attract out-of-towners for stays of more than one night was just a bonus.</p><p>“We did not built FNC Park with the intent of bringing everyone to Oxford, Miss.,” Boyd said. “We built it with the intent of serving ... Oxford and Lafayette County, first and foremost.</p><p>“But we knew we would have an opportunity to host events.”</p><p>Boyd said there was no pressure from the Oxford-area chamber of commerce or local politicians to bring more events to the park, but that hasn't stopped FNC Park from playing host to several baseball and soccer tournaments since it opened in 2008.</p><p>And for the rest of 2013, Boyd said the park is expected to host another 12 to 15 tournaments or sporting events.</p><p>Its success has led to a partnership with the University of Mississippi for a $1.5 million expansion of the Oxford Park Commission's existing tennis facility, from eight courts to 20.</p><p>“When you look at it ... we can easily bring in from 60 to 85 teams on a weekend,” Boyd said. “There's no doubt that it's made a difference locally. There's no doubt it's been a benefit.”</p><p>Robyn L. Bridges, the vice-president and public relations director for the Auburn and Opelika Tourism Bureau, said similar things when recounting the success of the Auburn area's sports and recreational complexes.</p><p>While Tuscaloosa may be owning the state now in college football, Auburn is easily surpassing this area when it comes to amateur sports offerings.</p><p>For example, the Auburn Wire Road Soccer Complex, a $3.2 million facility completed in 2007, has 12 fields that can accommodate tournaments from across the country.</p><p>Tuscaloosa, right now, has one regulation-sized soccer field.</p><p>Auburn-Opelika also played host to the United States Specialty Sports Association's Super NIT last year, which required the use of every baseball facility in the county — including those at the university — plus some others across the county line, Bridges said.</p><p>This one event brought more than 6,800 participants and visitors for 72 individual youth baseball teams to the area for three days.</p><p>“We were almost completely sold out in our hotel rooms ... in our county,” Bridges said.</p><p>The estimated economic impact for the area was $2.5 million.</p><p>According to the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission, this was one of the several events it has bid on to bring to Tuscaloosa, but failed because of inadequate facilities and space.</p><p>Others included:</p><p>n A tournament for U.S. Lacrosse in 2010 that would have brought 126 teams to the area for six days.</p><p>n An Amateur Softball Association national championship tournament that would have brought 72 teams for six days.</p><p>n An Ultimate Frisbee regional tournament, which would have brought 64 teams for four days.</p><p>According to Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission data, these four events meant a total economic impact of $17.9 million on the cities that hosted them. The largest of those events was the lacrosse tournament, which brought an $8.35 million economic impact to Philadelphia.</p><p>Tourism's impact</p><p>“Tourism is huge,” said Susan West, CEO of the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission. “It's the fourth- or fifth-largest industry, when you look at the number of people it employs and the amount of dollars that are spent.</p><p>“Our community is sorely lacking in facilities and what is offered.”</p><p>West said that the total investment won't be recovered within a year, but over time she expects the local tax dollars to be returned multiple times.</p><p>And she's hopeful that the County Commission will pledge to fund the plan not only for the tourism opportunities, but also for the benefit of local athletes, and she plans to make this request Wednesday during the commission's regular meeting.</p><p>“As large as sports tourism is, TTSC is going to do what it can to make sure that money is made back,” West said, “But this is a community issue. We're behind on these (facilities).</p><p>“We can bring things that will help pay for it, but ultimately these facilities are for our children so they don't have to pay to travel and train to learn how to compete.”</p><p>Reach Jason Morton at jason.morton@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0200.</p>